Worse than that, there was a visceral flash of pure disgust twisting his features.
Amanda saw it clearly. The disgust cut through her almost as deeply as the hair loss itself.
"Do something!" Amanda shrieked, spinning around to face him.
James took a step back, holding his hands up defensively. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Take me to the hospital!"
"I can't take you to a hospital, Amanda!" James immediately resisted. "I can't be seen with you in public! If anyone recognizes me—"
"You told me you loved me!" Amanda screamed, throwing a bottle of lotion across the room. It shattered against the tile near his feet. "Now is the time to prove it, you coward!"
James eventually agreed, but only under terms that fiercely protected himself.
He forced her to wear a silk scarf wrapped tightly around her head. He wore his dark hood, his sunglasses, and kept his head down the entire ride. He drove her to the nearesturgent care hospital in the nondescript rental car, speeding through the morning traffic.
But when he pulled into the parking lot, he refused to turn the engine off.
"I'm staying here," James said, gripping the steering wheel. "If I walk into a waiting room full of people, it will draw too much attention."
Amanda stared at him, tears streaming down her face. She was furious, humiliated, and utterly terrified. He could sneak into her apartment like a thief in the night for sex, but he could not walk into a brightly lit medical facility beside her when she was quite literally falling apart.
She slammed the car door and walked into the hospital alone.
***
The medical consultation was agonizingly thorough. Amanda arrived at the triage desk visibly distressed, demanding to see a doctor immediately.
A nurse led her into an examination room, taking her vitals while asking a relentless barrage of questions.
"When did the hair loss begin?" the nurse asked, noting Amanda's elevated heart rate. "Are you experiencing any pain, itching, burning, rash, swelling, fever, or dizziness? Have you been exposed to any industrial chemicals?"
"No!" Amanda cried.
"Have you used a new shampoo, conditioner, hair dye, chemical relaxer, keratin treatment, extension glue, or any new topical scalp oils?"
"I didn't change anything!" Amanda insisted, her voice shrill with panic. "I use the same products I always use!"
"Any history of autoimmune diseases? Thyroid issues? Severe stress? Any family history of alopecia?"
Amanda shook her head frantically, becoming increasingly defensive. "No! I am healthy! You need to fix this!"
An attending physician entered the room shortly after, snapping on a pair of blue nitrile gloves. He examined her scalp under a bright examination light. He noted the redness, the patchy loss, the broken strands near the root, and the tenderness of the skin.
"Severe acute hair shedding or breakage can happen for several reasons," the physician explained calmly. "It could be an allergic reaction, irritant contact dermatitis, a chemical exposure, an inflammatory scalp condition, a medication reaction, or a sudden autoimmune response. We cannot know the exact cause without running tests."
The doctor ordered a comprehensive panel. A phlebotomist drew vials of blood for basic metabolic tests, inflammatory markers, thyroid function, and iron levels. The doctor took a scalp swab to check for potential bacterial or fungal infections, and carefully collected samples of the fallen hair and residue from the scalp to test for possible chemical exposure. He ordered a stat dermatology consult and took clinical photos for her medical chart.
Amanda sat on the crinkly paper of the examination table, shaking violently. "Do something right now."
"We will treat the symptoms, protect the scalp from further irritation, and stop any potential ongoing exposure," the physician said. "But we cannot reverse the hair loss immediately. Some of these tests will take days to process."
The doctor paused, his expression serious. "Your scalp is highly irritated, and the remaining hair is severely compromised. If we leave it, the traction will continue to cause pain and further breakage, and it will make treating the scalpmuch more difficult. I strongly recommend that we carefully clip and shave the remaining damaged sections very short."
Amanda was horrified.
"No," she breathed, shrinking back. "Absolutely not."
